Context No. 3814 of 4322 · Exodus

Exodus 13:17-22: in context

17When Pharaoh had let the people go, God didn’t lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt”; 18but God led the people around by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt. 19Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones away from here with you.” 20They took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. 21The LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, that they might go by day and by night: 22the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, didn’t depart from before the people.

As Israel leaves Egypt, God deliberately does not lead them by the short, direct road through Philistine country, though it was near. He knows that if they meet war too soon, they might lose heart and turn back to Egypt. So he leads them the long way around, through the wilderness.

Here is a gentle glimpse into the wisdom of God's leading. The shortest path is not always the one God chooses; sometimes he leads us by a longer, harder road, not out of cruelty, but because he knows what we are not yet ready to face. He tends to our weakness, guiding us along the way we can actually bear. And he does not leave them to find the way alone: he goes before them himself, in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, a visible sign of his constant presence, never departing. When God leads us by a longer road than we expected, we can trust that he knows our frailty and is sparing us what we could not yet bear, and that his presence goes with us the whole way.

When God leads me by a longer, harder road than I expected, can I trust that he knows my weakness and is guiding me the way I can bear, his presence going before me the whole way?

Sources

Exodus 13:17: "God didn't lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war."
Exodus 13:18: "But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea."
Exodus 13:21: "The LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud... and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light."